Saturday, June 29, 2013

Rosie Offers You Her World Famous Corn Bean Tortilla Pie Just In Time For Your Fourth Of July Partay.

 I know I've posted this "recipe"
a bunch of times already,
but it's my go-to recipe whenever
I need to bring something to a neighborhood block party,
pig-pickin', or picnic.
People always remember this dish
and people expect me to bring it.
And it's always the first dish to go.

Dear Readers, I offer you Corn Bean Tortilla Pie
just in time for your Fourth of July festivities.
You may thank me later.

There is no right or wrong here.
There is no exact recipe.
You can tailor this to your own tastes
and adjust the ratios.
I'm just giving you the blueprint.

bag of large flour tortillas
can of corn, drained
equal amount of cooked black beans
(I don't like canned.)
2-3 TB each green, yellow, orange, and red peppers, chopped
1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
scallions
black olives, sliced
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese
2-3 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
2-3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
2-3 cups grated Pepper Jack cheese
1/4 stick butter, melted
cumin
cayenne

I do not use canned beans and don't recommend using them. If one absolutely must, be sure to rinse all the slime off the canned beans first. And even then, they still have a metallic patina that looks like an oil spill. No. No. No! I simply won't allow you to use canned beans. Do it my way or not at all. 

Back to dried beans. Beans take about 50-60 minutes to cook. They're cheap. There's no excuse not to use real beans. Don't bother with the instructions on the packages that tell you to soak the beans overnight. That's totally unnecessary. Listen to Rosie. All I do is rinse the beans first, then add them to unsalted boiling water and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Drain the beans, rinse well, and refresh the water in the pan. Bring to boil, add beans. Reduce to simmer and cook until tender. Taste test. I like my beans al dente not mushy, so 20 more minutes is usually right for my tastes.
Salt to taste.
 Have everything ready for assembly.

 I love the colors in this.
 Mix well.

No.
One can never have too much cheese.

Start layering.

Sprinkle on a layer of cheese,
some of the corn/bean mixture,
and a layer of cheese on a tortilla.
Top with another tortilla.
And keep on truckin'on until until you use up everything.

The cheese is the glue holding the whole thing together and when you started building the layers, the cheese is an important structural element. I use extra cheese and bean mixture around the edges to keep the layers even. If you don't build up the edges, you'll end up with a domed-shaped construction after baking.

 Keep layering until you run out of everything.
Save a bit of cheese and the corn/bean mixture 
for the topping.

 Brush top and edges with melted butter ...

... and dust with cayenne and cumin.
Top with a sprinkling of corn, beans,
cheeses, scallions, chopped jalapeno, and sliced black olives.
 
 Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes.
Check near the end in case you need to tent the pie.
Let rest at least ten minutes before slicing.


 Is this not beautiful?

 Make one to bring to your next get-together.
Everyone will love you for it.

Stay tuned.
Rosie has a few more recipes for your Fourth of July.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can attest that this is wonderful. I must confess, however, that I use canned beans. In fact, I use canned pinto beans. My palate is not as refined as yours, Rosie, so we do just fine. (I've never been able to eat black beans--they just look funny.)

Rosie Hawthorne said...

That's OK, NMOAC. I'll give you a pass on the canned beans, although I am not happy. ;) Kidney beans would be good with this too Be sure to rinse the beans well. So glad you tried this!

Marilyn said...

Rosie, I would love to try this at home, but I fear that the culinary-challenged members of my family would seriously balk at the exotic flavors.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Poor Mar. Fer cryin' out loud, it's CORN and BEANS. Make it!